Betrothal
by hyperoo
Summary: Katara is betrothed to the Prince of the Northern Water Tribe and only Zuko can help her break the contract. Disclaimer: Don't Avatar: the Last Airbender, it is property of Viacom. I make no money off of this nor tangible profit. Only ego boosts.
1. Chapter 1

Katara sighed, Sokka had left his stuff out again! Not only did Sokka leave it out, but he had left it everywhere!

She knelt down and started picking everything up, grumbling as she did so, one of these days, Katara was going to let them deal with their own messes and then laugh when they got buried in them.

Katara was shoving everything into the green leather sack, not caring what got broken or bent.

_Boomerang, odd monocle detective hat, The Boulder's autograph, package addressed to Katara from the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe._

Really, with as many times as they had been attacked and forced to abandon campsites, she just didn't understand how he managed to keep so much ju-.

_Wait a minute, package addressed to me from the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe!?_

Quickly, Katara dumped out the bag and rifled through everything until she found the package. It was small, wrapped in blue dyed seal hide and bore the moon and oceans crest of the Northern Water Tribe. Katara reached up to her necklace, she always thought it odd that her grandmother's betrothal necklace had the crest of the Southern Water Tribe carved into it. Almost as if a part of Master Pakku had known.

Katara shook her head out of a past she didn't know nor really understand and concentrated on the package in her hands. It was so odd, Chief Arnook had no real reason to contact her, and yet he had found one. Not only that, Sokka had kept it from her!

_How dare he!_ Katara thought as she ripped off the sewn on crest/patch that sealed the package, _If Chief Arnook wants to talk to me over him he should just deal with it instead of sneaking around and-_

Katara's thoughts were suddenly cut short as she took in what the letter said. Her hand flew to her mouth as tears sprung to her eyes.

_How could they! _She thought._ How could they do such a thing?_

"Katara? Have you seen my green bag? You know, the one I bought in the Earth Kingdom?"

She looked up as Sokka walked out of the temple and into the courtyard where she was cleaning.

"Katara?"

Katara sat next to his pile of random stuff, a letter in her hand, tears in her eyes. Anger reached Sokka, whoever had upset his baby sister to the point of tears would pay! Then he looked at what she held.

Sokka's face went white, Katara wasn't supposed to find that letter at least not until after the war had ended. His father had given him strict instructions that it not be mentioned in anyway.

"How could you?" She demanded

Sokka said nothing, truth be told he hadn't really known how. The offer had arrived when he and his father where getting ready to attack Fire Navy ships while the coup was being planned in Ba Sing Se. Of course realizing what this meant for the tribes, Sokka and Hakoda had agreed to it, they figured Katara would be so happy with the fall of Fire Lord Ozai that she would never argue with such an amazing opporutunity .

"HOW COULD YOU?!" She screamed.

Once again, Sokka said nothing. He didn't have anything to say.

"What's going on?" Toph called, obviously curious about Katara's sudden lack composure.

Aang and Zuko followed her, they had all been sparing and the scream had disturbed them even through the bending.

"Katara," Aang said "what's wrong?"

"Ask Sokka" Katara spat, "afterall, he's the one who married me off!"

A stunned look crossed the benders faces, married off? It didn't make sense! Katara was from the Southern Water Tribe, a tribe founded by female Waterbenders who had wanted to fight but had been refused! Women chose whom they married in the Southern Tribe, the men of a woman's family had almost no real say!

"Sokka," Aang said "what does she mean married off?"

Sokka sighed, he had never wanted to tell her under such conditions. Actually, he had never wanted to tell her under any conditions, he had wanted their father to tell her while he was a safe distance away.

"When I was with dad at Chameleon Bay, an envoy from the Northern Water Tribe arrived, and Chief Arnook's nephew was with them. He said he had traveled all the way to Chameleon Bay so he could personally ask for Katara's hand."

Sokka stopped and looked over at his sister, angry tears fell down her cheeks. Katara looked as if she was debating between breaking down and crying or strangling her older brother.

He opened his mouth to continue the story to the rest when Katara interrupted him.

_Dearest Katara_, She read._ It has been many months since I saw you fight Master Pakku and yet I still can not forget_ _you. Your graceful, yet wild and untrained stances, the determined and deadly look in your eyes, they haunt my memories and my dreams. Never before had I thought a maiden of such beauty could posses such a wild and untameable spirit and yet there you stood, refusing to yield even after Master Pakku had obviously defeated you. As I think back to that day, the anticipation becomes almost unbearable, I long to hold you in my arms and call you my wife. The day your father and brother agreed to our marriage was the happiest day of my life and I long to show you how it will become the happiest of yours. Never again will you have to sully your hands in battle or risk wrinkling your beautiful face with thoughts of politics. You will spend the rest of your life in comfort and happiness and want for nothing. _

_Until the day I tame your wild spirit,_

_Prince Hai_

No one uttered a word, they were to stunned to speak. After the letter they weren't sure who they pitied more, Katara for having to go through with and endure this idiot, or this Prince Hai whom obviously thought he could tell Katara what to do and survive.

When no one spoke-up for her, Katara lost her temper, crumpled the letter and threw at Sokka's head.

"How much did you get for me?" She demanded "One barrel of fish? Two? Did he at least sweeten the deal and throw in some squid?"

The last comment finally brought a response from Sokka. An angry one.

"Is that what you think?!" He yelled "That we bartered you like the catch of the day? This marriage will bring the tribes together, it'll help strengthen us and keep both tribes protected in the event of another war in the future. Did you think about that? Did you ever think there was more to this then just you?!"

"So you sold me off to an arrogant, sexist jackass whom I get to spend the rest of my life lying still for while you get to love and marry and live with whoever makes you happy!"

What little spine Sokka had grown quickly shriveled up. He had never really thought of it that way, but she was right. The worst part was that Katara deserved so much better, she had fought so hard to become a Waterbending Master and prove herself to everyone, and now, it would all be taken away.

"Katara," Sokka said "I'm sorry. We didn't think –"

"No," She snapped "you didn't!"

At that Katara shoved past everyone and stormed into the temple and towards the bathhouses. She needed to clear her head if she was going to get out of this without causing a civil war.

Zuko stood there, not speaking. He had never seen Katara so angry, not even when she had threatened his life. To betroth her to someone she had never met without even discussing it with her first, such a thing would never happen in the Fire Nation, at least not someone as important as Katara was. That would be like arranging a marriage for Azula or himself without their consent. Yes, it was more than common for peasants to practice such things, but Katara and Sokka were the children of Chief Hakoda, in a way they were a Prince and Princess and you didn't insult the Princess if you wanted to live. This Prince Hai obviously had no respect for the customs of Katara's tribe and merely thought of her as a pretty face. A part of Zuko wanted to see the attempted marriage just to laugh at this idiot and the other wanted to beat this Prince for taking a warrior of Katara's ability so lightly.

Zuko followed Katara into the Temple bathhouse, he was going to offer to heat the water for her. It was the least she deserved.

"Katara," Zuko called through the door, "I could heat the water for you. I mean, I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now, but if you need anything. If I can help in anyway-"

"You can!" a grateful reply came "Come in here."

Zuko hesitated, wasn't she in the bath? He didn't need to heat the water from inside, he could just light the fire pit underneath it.

"Please?" Katara called.

_Please! _Zuko thought. _Did she just say please? To me?! _

If she was willing to sound so desperate then he really must be able to help somehow. He walked in and found Katara sitting in the bath, water p to her chin. She looked up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Zuko couldn't believe it, everytime he had seen her cry, there had been anger in her eyes, but not now.

No, this time there was no strength, no determination, just sadness and vulnerability.

"What can I do to help?" Zuko said, finally finding his voice.

Katara took a deep breath and stood up, her wet, naked body glistening from the small amount of sunlight that came in through the tiny window near the ceiling. Zuko's mouth went dry as he took in the sight of her naked form. He wanted to swallow, but there was nothing to do it with.

"You can join me."


	2. Chapter 2

"How would that help?" Zuko said nervously, unable tear his eyes from the naked, female body in front of him.

"If I'm not a virgin, Prince Hai will most likely reject me." Katara answered

"If you and I… I mean if we… it would nullify the marriage contract."

Zuko nervously rubbed his mouth; he finally had saliva, only now there was too much of it. He was obviously aroused, no question there. At his age, any healthy, straight guy would be. But why him? Haru was there as well as Aang.

"Aang's too young." Katara said, easily reading his expression "He wouldn't understand what I wanted him to do. And Haru has feelings for me, it would complicate things."

An embarrassed blush flooded Katara's face as she explained herself. Just talking about the act made her nervous, she wasn't even sure she could actually go through with it.

"So that leaves me." Zuko said "Doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I'm from the Fire Nation and Prince Hai will hate me anyway?"

Katara sighed, that that did have something to do with it, but only if anyone found out whom she had been with.

"Only if they find out who it was. No one has to know it was you, I've traveled all over the world this past year, and it could've been anyone, anywhere."

"So I'm convenient."

Why did he have to make things so difficult? Didn't he realize how hard this was for her?

She had always wanted to love the person she would first be with, but now necessity took that away from her

Zuko could see the struggle on her face. Katara didn't want to do this, but she didn't know what else to do. She was going to be married off to a man whom had no respect for her and would most likely treat her like a pretty trinket to show off. Refusing the marriage would risk another war just as one had ended, but if the prince deemed her unworthy of him, she would be free.

He looked over at her, after standing for so long, the water on her body had gotten cold. Her nipples were now taught and hard. She was making it very hard to say no.

"Alright." He sighed.

**A/N: Since the rest of this story violates policy, it has been edited out. To find the unedited version go to the link in my profile.**

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	3. Chapter 3

Katara looked shyly away. It's not that she had never seen a naked man before, on the contrary, baths were anything but private in the Southern Water Tribe; but this was different. She was about to actually lose her virginity to this naked man, Katara couldn't help but feel nervous. She had always pictured her first time with her husband, whoever that would be. Most likely one of the warriors or maybe another Waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe she would meet when she finally managed to travel there and learn Waterbending, never had the Prince of the Fire Nation crossed her mind.

Zuko reached over and took her chin in his hand, leading her gaze back towards his body. He knew he was attractive, the constant attention from girls during his exile in the Earth Kingdom had taught him that. These beautiful women had wanted him when he was nothing but a bald drifter or penniless waiter. Truth be told, Zuko had enjoyed that. To know it was more than his title and riches that they wanted from him, he had gotten quite the ego boost.

Katara nervously reached forward and put her hands on his hips not quite sure what would come next. Should she lie down in the water for him? Did he prefer her to sit? Katara was confused and expecting Zuko to take the next step. He was obviously more experienced than she.

**ONCE AGAIN, THIS CHAPTER DESTROYS POLICY. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE UNEDITED VERSION FOLLOW THE LINK IN MY PROFILE.**


	4. Chapter 4

At first it was just an uncomfortable sensation, but as Zuko pushed in further it got worse until finally the tension broke and the feeling became solid pain.

**_THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER PRETTY MUCH DESTROYS POLICY. TO FOND THE REST OF IT, FOLLOW THE LINK IN MY PROFILE. SORRY TO BE SO STRICT BUT SOMEONE GOT OFFENDED BY ONE OF MY STORIES AND REPORTED ME._**


	5. Chapter 5

Then it was quiet. Zuko's kiss seemed to cause Katara more distress than the entire ordeal. He wasn't even sure why he did it himself, maybe because she was vulnerable, maybe because Zuko's brain was once again receiving blood and therefore oxygen and he was putting everything in perspective.

Zuko pulled out of Katara and sat back as she pulled away and wrapped her arms around her breasts, needlessly embarrassed. There was something about the situation that felt odd, something beyond her emotions towards their recent act. Had Katara had any spiritual training (something the chief's daughter would've had had the Fire Nation not decimated her tribe) she would've known to get out of the water, Katara would've known that soaking in water that now had her virgin's blood and Zuko's semen in it was a powerful act. Such rituals had a tendency to bind people together in ways they don't plan.

But neither of them knew of such things, so they continued to sit in the water, not quite sure what to do next.

Eventually they both stood up, dressed and left the bath house, the sun had set and a waxing moon was high in the sky. Zuko had gone to his room to dry his clothes while Katara headed out to courtyard to make dinner. She was happy to see that Sokka had already done it, though not happy enough to actually risk eating any of the odd smelling soup. Instead of sitting with everyone else, she decided to practice her bending.

Even though the moon was not full, Katara's bending was the strongest it had ever been. For the first time, she felt as if it didn't matter. Katara's belief in her abilities was all she needed. She could bend any water anywhere; the element was at her command. Deciding to follow this new urge, Katara reached out and felt all of the water around her. Not just the fountains and baths, but the plants and creatures as well. Everything had water; it was the element of life. A particular pool of water was calling to her; she couldn't place it but decided to reach out for it nonetheless.

Zuko was sitting in the corner of his bed, his clothes hung over his window sill drying in the warm evening air. He felt different, but he couldn't figure out what exactly had changed. This wasn't Zuko's first time, nor was it with someone he had romantic intentions towards; at least not prior. But something about it had changed him.

Zuko gasped, an amazing feeling washed over his body. Every nerve was tingling with pleasure, as if a warm wave had washed over him. But just as quickly as it had hit it retreated. Then it hit again and again, Zuko had no idea what it was, he just didn't want it to stop. Each wave became more intense, as if he were literally drowning in the sensations. His head lolled back and a groan escaped his mouth, it was incredible. Harder and faster the waves slammed into his body, growing more intense each time. Harder and faster, harder and faster, sweeping Zuko out to sea and then slamming him back against the rocks. He was close, so close. His body shuddered as reached his completion. After he recovered, Zuko leaned back against the wall confused. He hadn't been touching himself and he wasn't dreaming. How had that happened?

In a fountain off the courtyard Katara put her hands down and stepped out of the water. She didn't know why, but there was something about this practice that made her feel accomplished.


	6. Chapter 6

Breakfast was awkward, very awkward. No one really talked to each other, they were all too afraid. Katara passed out bowls of rice to the motley crue, got some for herself and walked away to sit alone with her thoughts. No one tried to stop her or even ask why she had gone out of her way to sit apart from the rest of the group.

All the blame was directed towards Sokka, whose rash decision and inability to stand up for what he knew his sister would want was the cause of the current situation. It didn't help that two of the very skilled benders were males that had feelings for Katara or that Toph didn't believe in what he had done. (And upsetting Toph scared Sokka more than anything.) The guilt he felt (on top of knowledge that his life may very well be in danger) caused a reaction in Sokka that to this day marvels those who hear about it; he lost his appetite.

A smirk played on Zuko's face as he gauged the reaction of the people around him, they all wanted to think themselves altruistic, insist they were worried about Katara; but the looks on their faces betrayed that. The "heroes" surrounding Zuko were all selfishly thinking of how this would affect them. He was right of course; Sokka didn't know what he would tell his father. Katara wasn't suppose to aware of the engagement yet. This would give her time to think of a way out of the situation. For once, Sokka was relieved his father was behind prison walls safely away from his son.

Haru was hurt because of his feelings for Katara, she had been a beacon of hope, an inspiration to him and now she and her light would be beyond him.

Aang was the most upset, the only reason he fought so hard was to win Katara's love and approval, and while he may have someday won it, her betrothal made it worthless. Katara would never be his and he still had to fight a battle he had lost all drive to win.

Toph was probably the most selflessly worried, though her years of being spoiled and catered to made her selfish by nature, (the thought of having to endure Katara's constant complaining about her husband was not something Toph was looking forward too) she did care about her friends feelings towards the situation, especially after the rash decision Katara had made the day before. Toph could see Katara and Zuko's deeds, so clearly in fact that Toph had climbed on Appa's back to remove the image from her mind.

The strange dreams Zuko had also played a role in his facial expressions. As he slept an oddly peaceful sleep his mind was filled with images of Kataras naked form. Memories of her cries and writhing ensured a stained bed and a morning erection so fierce Zuko was forced to spend an extra ten minutes in bed adding to the stain. While that had been nice, it had been nothing compared to the odd orgasm Zuko had experienced before bed, the most intense physical sensations he had ever felt had assaulted his body and he could not find the cause for nor imitate them again. (Even though he spent a good hour afterwards trying too.) It had been a good night and the display at breakfast added to his positive mood by the sheer humanity of his companions. For once he didn't feel like an outsider, there were all mortal and capable of error just as he was. Zuko felt more connected with them and he hoped they would soon feel the same.

Katara spent most of the day alone, she needed to gather bitter herbs and make the tea that would ensure she wouldn't be burdened with an unintended result of the previous day's activities. No one approached her; they all assumed she needed time alone. After drinking her tea, she decided to go to her room and rest, her hips were still sore and it hurt to walk.

In the courtyard, Zuko was training Aang in Firebending. A task that was exceedingly difficult as his pupil was overly distracted. The events of the past day had made Aang moody and emotional. The irony of the situation was not lost on Zuko and for the first time he related to and appreciated his Uncle's patience. Eventually, Zuko gave up and handed Aang over to Toph, the blind Earthbender would take no excuses and that's what the Avatar needed.

Wandering into a secluded area of the temple, Zuko decided to clear his head with some meditation. Dusting the cobwebs off some old candles, he lit them and then sat down; eyes closed Zuko concentrated on causing the flames to rise and fall.

Katara groaned as she felt heat rise in her body. Not just heat, but sheer physical lust and passion. In all her life, Katara had never felt so aroused. Her nipples hardened and became sensitive to even the lightest brush of her undergarments against them. The slightest friction of her thighs was almost painful as she attempted to adjust herself and figure out what was going on. Then the heat rose higher and higher, Katara buried her face in her pillow and bit down on the fabric to keep from screaming out. The most intense sensations were rising in her body, she wanted to scream in pleasure but others would hear her and think she was hurt, that was an embarrassment she didn't need. Katara screamed into the pillow, it was so amazing, and just kept getting more intense. It was almost as if something were rising out of her, higher and higher. After nearly half an hour of this amazing torture, she finally reached her peak and fell down into the aftershocks. She didn't know why, but Katara had been thinking of Zuko the entire time.


End file.
